Some Keep Promises, Some Keep Secrets

Some stories need to be told, no matter how painful the telling.  And some promises must be kept, no matter the obstacles in the path of the keeping.  The reason for both is usually love. 

I recently finished a moving and thought-provoking book called "Justice For Speedy," which is the true story of the author's journey from dreaming of breeding her mare, raising the resulting foal with care, the charismatic colt "Speedy" growing up to show enormous potential, watching Speedy perform at his first show and winning a Championship class, and then discovering the horse was being abused by the trusted trainer, unbeknownst to the owner.  Judy Berkley describes in detail how she found out, after much investigation, that her trainer had gone directly against her very explicit expectations that her horse not be over-fed, not be abused, and not be given any steroids.  Sadly, Speedy endured all three, which caused a cascade of health problems resulting in him foundering and later, colicking, and being put down.  On top of the tragedy of Speedy's death, Berkley had the added insult of an industry in which the drugging of show horses is common and almost systematic, and where many of those with pull and influence are happy to cover up the ugliness of it.  Berkley had promised her horse that she would tell his story, and that she wouldn't let him be forgotten, so despite many hardships, personal, financial and emotional, she continues to bring to light some of the abuses that are deemed 'common practice' within the show and performance horse industry.

The story is about a Half Arabian gelding that was shown in halter and western pleasure, but please believe me, this story could be set in the reining world, the Quarter Horse or Paint pleasure circuits, the hunter/jumper world.....it is about how some are willing to do just about anything to their horses to move up the ladder of earnings, points, buckles, trophies and garlands, and how higher-ups within the industry try to quash the controversies with lawyers and lawsuits, confidentiality contracts, and the Good Ol' Boy Club.  We have all seen it - the corruption often goes all the way to the top.  Equally appalling is how the general membership (of any association) participates in this dysfunctional and enabling 'trainer worship' that allows many to get away with callous acts in the name of winning and money.  You will certainly recognize the characters in the story because they are universal.

Berkley is angry about what happened to her horse, it shows in her writing.  And as well she should be - we all should be.  The horse industry has been plagued with similar incidents for a long time, and a change within our culture - for the better - is overdue.  Don't our horses deserve better than to be used and abused, and then discarded? 

I believe so - but it is going to take three levels of change:
1) Those who are actually using abusive methods need to see their actions for what they are, and resolve to change or get out.

2)  Those who don't abuse their horses or drug them, but turn a blind eye/justify it, need to be willing to speak out, publicly or privately, against practices that they know hurts horses and that they know is bad for our industry.  They need to find it within themselves to do the right thing, because ignoring the problems won't make them go away.

3)  Those who are in a position of influence need to take a proactive, public stance against those practices that damage the integrity of our breeds, our sport, and our competitions.

I am not of the belief that everyone who shows or competes on horses is abusive, or drugs them, or is to self-absorbed to care.  I know that there are many, many people who feel like I do - that it is an incredible gift to ride a great horse, and to work in partnership with that horse to achieve something, whatever that is.  That horses have the ability to teach us, empower us, lift us up, heal our souls and bring purpose to our lives.  Those of us (and there are thousands of you who will read this, according to my view counter) who love horses must work together to actively try and change the culture.  Not only will we be protecting the horses themselves, we will be protecting our lifestyle and viable future.

The first step - getting educated.....You can check out Judy Berkley's book and website here, at  http://justiceforspeedy.com/home.html  I would also encourage you to take a look at her store, which has a collection of t-shirts, mugs, hats and bumper stickers that can help you declare your horse drug free.  I especially love the mug that says, "Bring back the 1979 Arabian horse" and the bumper sticker that says, "Unattractive, Unnatural, Just Plain Dumb - Peanut Rolling."  Also, if you read through the blog portion of her site, you will uncover the name of the trainer who abused her horse.

I would like to thank Judy for sharing Speedy's story, and commend her for having the guts to keep her promise to her horse.  I hope it inspires more people to speak up and name names.

The Wrong Way to 'Get Loose'

For the past several months, I have been using the services of an equine massage therapist for one of my training horses.  This mare is doing very well, and her physical issues are very subtle, but the owner and I agree that in order to get the best possible performance out of her, and to preserve her soundness, massage therapy is a fantastic tool.  Basically, the mare is slightly crooked, and while I have done lots of stretching and bending, the crookedness persists, so we decided to call in a professional.  Massage therapy of this type is more than just rubbing the muscles; it is a form of physical therapy in which the muscles, tendons and ligaments are re-trained into a new frame, taught to lengthen and body symmetry is encouraged.  It has made a huge difference for this mare!  She is now taking both leads with more ease, is able to lengthen her neck and round her back, and moves in a much more soft and even manner.  The owner is thrilled with the process.

The massage sessions generally take an hour and a half to complete, and were scheduled every 2 weeks at first, and are now monthly.  While the therapist is doing her work, I am there to hold and assist, as well as observe, and of course, as anyone would when they meet a fellow horse person with whom they have a lot in common, we share stories and observations about the horse industry.  This person has worked in the reining world for many years, and knows many of the same people that I know.  We recently had a discussion that brought to light that we also share a pet peeve: the widespread and inappropriate use of 'tying around.'    Tying around is when a rider will tie a horse's head to either its saddle or its tail with a short rein in order to force the horse to bend in a small circle.  Perhaps the horse is resistant on one side or the other, or perhaps the horse is giving attitude; they believe that tying around will solve that problem by giving the horse no choice but to conform.  They mistakenly believe that the horse will 'learn' to give because the only way they can get relief on their mouths is to give to the pressure. 

The problem with this is that there is no release.  Even if the horse gives, they are not able to straighten their body, their neck must stay bent, and eventually the muscles get tired and they are forced to lean on the rein, causing pain in their mouths (and everywhere else).  It is commonplace in the performance horse industry for horses to be left in this position FOR HOURS.  Can you imagine the pain and the anxiety of a horse being trapped in this position while the rider leaves the premises to go have lunch?  And if the reason for the horse's initial resistance in bending was pain in their neck, poll, or shoulders, can you imagine how this would cause unbearable agony for an animal unable to free itself?

My first exposure to this practice was in the Arabian industry when I was a young teenager, when my family began using a 'big name' trainer who used this method to get more flexibility in our horses.  This trainer was very judicious with the practice though; we never used a rein to tie around, instead, we made a rubber 'bending rein' out of surgical tubing that had snaps on either end to go from the saddle to the bit.  Surgical tubing is not very strong, and the idea was that it would break if too much pressure was put on it.  This trainer was also adamant that we time the horses as they were bending, only doing it 10 or 15 minutes on each side.  And we were not allowed to leave the area; it was important to be nearby in case the horse got in trouble.  As I grew up (and we changed trainers), I realized that while this method was indeed safer than what many put their horses through, it was still intrinsically a shortcut.  And most real horsemen know - in good horse training, there are no shortcuts.

It wasn't until I started riding Quarter Horses at a reining barn in Arizona that I observed someone tying around with a leather rein to the horse's tail, and walking away to leave the horse for long stretches of time.  I saw the agony in the horse's eyes, and eventually, the defeat in its demeanor, and I knew that I would never allow that trainer to put my horses through that.  Amazingly, that reining trainer is still there, working for a big, fancy barn in Scottsdale, and over and over, throughout my years in the reining world, I have seen this same 'method' employed by many well-known reining trainers. It is accepted, by many, as part of training a reiner, despite the fact that, in the best case scenario, they are making their animals more sore and resistant than before they were tied around and in the worst case scenario, are risking their horses lives, as so many animals will just snap when put in this position, resulting in them falling down or flipping over, breaking their necks in the process.  Many good horses have been ruined or killed in this manner - though you aren't going to see it written about in a major industry publication.  That would just be attracting unwanted attention to a dirty little secret, wouldn't it?

What is especially sad is that it is not at all necessary to tie horses around.  If the trainer is doing their job correctly, they would be bending the horse from the saddle, where it is possible to FEEL the horse's mouth and body orientation, and respond with counter pressure, applying release when the horse responds correctly.  If the trainer is doing their job, then they would respond to resistance as an opportunity to discover that animal's areas of pain, from injury or abnormal physiology, and would then have that horse seen by a vet or massage therapist.  If the trainer is doing their job, they would understand that force will never beget a willing partner, and that shortcuts create more problems than taking the long (and correct) route to partnership.  If the trainer is doing their job, they would be safeguarding the horse's well-being and sanity over their own inconvenience.

The massage therapist that has now become my friend shared with me the story of her gelding, who is out of some outstanding reining bloodlines but is now a reining 'reject.'  Why?  Because a well-known trainer had him, tied him around for 'having attitude' and the horse ended up freaking out, and nearly cut his tongue completely off.  He is healed now and she uses him for dressage, where they have been quite successful.  Success in this case is relative to the fact that this horse was not only physically damaged, but also mentally fragile, and so finding him a job that he can do happily and comfortably is a triumph in itself.

What is terribly sad for me, and extremely disappointing, is that the trainer who did this to this gelding is someone I know quite well, someone who has had horses I've bred and someone who I thought I might want to send my own horses to in the future.  But now I cannot un-know what I know.  I have considered that if I put a horse in training in the reining industry, would it be possible to have a trainer sign a 'no tie around' contract, to attempt to save my horses from this fate?  I have a feeling that such a request would be met with arrogance and defensiveness, so my only hope is to find a trainer who is against such methods already.  I encourage everyone to do the same.  Ask your trainer if they tie around.  If they do, expect to hear a lot of justifications and excuses.  Just remember that they are consciously using a short cut, and this represents a hole in their methodology and a very real threat to your horse's well-being.  Then take your horse and head the other direction.

Witness the Opening of Pandora's Box

The American Quarter Horse Association recently lost itscourt case over cloning, which means that eventually, cloned Quarter Horses may be able to obtain registration papers.  While AQHA makes it’s appeal, most of the membership share a common standpoint of disappointment and disgust on this turn of events.  Only a very small group of people want clones included in the registry, and despite years and years of consistent opposition, they have used vast amounts of money to force cloning upon us.  I can’t help but feel that in the trajectory of history, this decision could mean ruin for our breed.  

I have written previously about all the reasons I believe allowing clones in the registry is wrong; if you’d like to read that, clickhere.

If no one wants clones, then how did we get here?  Money!  It costs an incredible amount to get a cloned foal on the ground, and only in a case where a person stands to make a ton of money is an individual cloned.  Dr. Veneklasen, who has set up an equine reproductive clinic in Texas to do clones, is at the center of the lawsuit – I can bet that his biggest motivator is NOT that he is trying to further the breed, but is instead thinking about how much money he will make once registration legitimizes his practices.  It is, after all, a breach of anti-trust lawsuit.  But what impact will this have on the breed?  What will the 20, 30, 50 year affect be of breeding the same individual horse (or small group of horses), over and over and over?  How will we be able to track those clones when line breeding starts to occur? How will this affect genetic disorders, both the ones that we know of now, and those that have yet to emerge?  Once we go down this road, we will not be able to turn back.  What might seem like a small rule change will have lasting detrimental effects that we can't even begin to understand right now.

I am horrified at the thought of going to a competition, and witnessing clones competing against each other.  How about many multiples of clones competing against each other?  Now, wouldn’t that be fun? We already see the same bloodlines endlessly crossed on each other in the show pen – next, it will be literally the same horse over and over.  Raise your hand if you think this would be a HUGE turn off, for members and for people outside the business that we might want to draw in.  Cloning will remove the glorious ART of breeding, the ability of the studious breeder to blend bloodlines, assess strengths and conformation, taking chances on outcrosses that might produce the next Great One.  Cloning reduces it to creating widgets.  The next widget is just like the one before it.  "'Cause that widget made us lots of money!"

I have seen people write that cloning is like a bloodline that you don’t like; if you don’t like it, you don’t buy it or breed it.  So, if we just ignore it, it will go away?  Oh my, how I wish this were true!  While I do agree that we all should make a conscious decision NOT to feed the cloning beasts in any way, I must disagree that by simply not buying those horses, or breeding to them, that we are doing our best to safeguard the integrity of the breed.   It is the conscientious breeder's responsibility to protect the breed's integrity.  In the same way that it is a knowledgeable observer's duty to step up and do something when they see someone beating their horse behind a barn at a show, it is the astute breeder's duty to step up for the breed in the case of clones, and do what they can to block their being legitimized.  There will always be people who aspire to be a big shot, there will always be people who are only in horses to make a buck, there will always be people who want the newest, latest toy but don’t think twice about discarding it later.   We cannot allow those people to make decisions that will severely impact those of us that breed for a better horse tomorrow (instead of horses that are long dead) and want to be here for the long haul. We have too much to lose. Excellent horse breeding requires a long view, and the long view of clones is one of suspended animation and a shrinking gene pool.  

I am against giving clones papers of any kind.  I know there are people with the theory that by giving clones papers, even in some sort of appendix, we will be able to somehow control the clone producers, and keep them honest.   If a person is of a mind to be dishonest, and, say, switch a clone’s semen for semen from an animal that is the ‘real thing,’ a piece of paper isn’t going to stop them.   Won’t the real thing always be more valuable, and therefore, more profitable than that from a clone, even a clone with papers?  I’d love to think that people would do the honorable thing, but the problem is, I have met too many people in the horse business that would sell their granny up the river if it made them some money! The point is, once cloning starts happening on a larger scale, and is given more legitimacy by allowing registration, we are going to see the cost of producing clones drop, we are going to see more people doing it, and we are going to see more people doing shady things around it.  From what I have heard, it has already started to happen!  This genie is already out of the lamp!

 This at a time when AQHA , NRHA and NCHA are already facing incredible challenges.  AQHA is under scrutiny in their push to keep slaughter as a national option for keeping horse prices higher, even though over 70% of slaughtered horses are Quarter Horses, and polls show that most Americans don’t want slaughter.  Over-breeding is a shameful but commonplace practice within our industry, but AQHA won’t address it because they make money off those registrations, even if the horse is slaughtered before it reaches its three year old year.  NRHA and NCHA have been embroiled in scandal after scandal, many turning into lawsuits and embarrassing spectacles that have shed light on the greed many ‘elite’ members of these associations possess.   Since most of the clones produced so far are performance horses, and not halter or pleasure horses, I can only conclude that this decision will affect reiners and cutters the most.  Which makes sense, since reining and cutting has been the only segment of the entire horse industry that has consistently grown, in both members and prize money available, in the past ten years.   Yes, NRHA and NCHA are performance associations, so they don’t have the responsibility of registration, but the breeding practices of their members are driving the greed behind cloning.  There is so much money at stake, and so much pressure to rise within the ranks, that it is inevitable that some will be willing to do anything to gain status.  

I am of the opinion that allowing the registration of clones will hurt our industry at a time when participation is already starting to wane. Many people are leaving reining and cutting because it seems that an elite few in high places pull the strings, and the cloning case only furthers that perception. We are sacrificing the long term goals and success of everyone involved for the short term gain of a few well-connected individuals. Allowing clones in any capacity is shooting ourselves in the foot.

But don’t think that cloning is just an AQHA problem.  If those who stand to gain from producing clones can force their way in to a member-driven association like AQHA, they surely can do it to other registries.  I am hoping that AQHA continues to fight and that the case is heard by a judge that is familiar with breeding animals.   This is a precedent that affects all horsemen.  May we all thank Judge Mary Lou Robinson for her ability, with the stroke of a pen, to put the horses of the world, and the traditions the make up horse breeding, at risk for a downfall.

 In a recent conversation with another breeder, a metaphor came to me…..that of the difference between mass-produced plastic spoons, and heirloom silver, hand-engraved, spoons.   Which would you rather eat off of?  Which would you rather keep for your kids to use?   Horses that we have bred up to this point, that are a unique combination of sire and dam, whose bloodlines have been carefully developed and crossed , that may be from the only time a mare and stallion were crossed because soon thereafter, one of them died – those horses are the heirloom silver spoons.  The unique, wonderful gift that we can offer future generations of horsemen which will always be useful, and whose value rests on integrity of lineage.  The clones are the plastic spoons; sure, you might be able to eat off one, but it looks like every other spoon, it isn’t as good as the original, and because there are so many just like it, it isn’t worth that much to the next generation.  The only person happy about the plastic spoon is the guy who owns the plastic spoon factory.  The rest of us are just witnesses to the end of an era.

When Bigger Isn't Better

Hey everyone!  Spring Break is over and so I am back to writing, and thought I'd jump right back in with a subject that is bound to make some people uncomfortable: rider weight.  In the US, and the world over, people are getting larger, and while there is a lot of pressure in the media to be thin, the truth is that the average person is not only taller, but bigger in overall size and carries more fat than an average person 50 years ago.  Dealing with our weight in an honest way can be difficult; no one likes to talk about their faults, and we also don't want to seem rude in talking about someone else's either.  But when we are talking about the weight of a rider on horseback, my feeling is that we MUST talk about it, because the horse cannot.

A friend recently posted an interesting article out of the UK that proposed that only 1 in 20 riders is the optimal weight for their horse, and that a horse should only carry 10% of their body weight.  This differs from other articles I have read on the subject in that many say that horses can comfortably carry 20% of their body weight, but it did get me thinking....how often do people actually weigh their horses, and then weight themselves with all of their tack?  I would suppose that this rarely happens, especially in barns where riders ride western exclusively.  Only in extreme cases, when someone is either obese or extremely tall, is the rider's size mentioned, or sometimes, in the case of a horse being very small or old is a rider not allowed to ride it if it is a lesson horse.  Many owners and trainers don't want to say, "You are too big for that horse," and risk hurting someone's feelings.

What do we risk for this political correctness?  Our horses well-being, both physical and mental!  Horses carrying riders that are too heavy are often plagued by lameness issues, such as suspensory injuries, dropped pasterns and joint soreness, as well as sore backs.  They may try to evade the discomfort by displaying behavior problems, such as bucking, head tossing, rearing, stopping with refusal to go forward, and by pinning their ears when asked to perform.  The horses who have the unfortunate combination of a too-heavy rider and a saddle that doesn't fit well will end up with nerve damage (sometimes characterized by white spots on the back and withers), will have trouble with their leads, and may even develop the habit of 'pulling back' when they are being saddled.  All of these problems are fairly common, but are usually blamed on something else - conformation, equipment, bad attitude - but have you ever heard someone say, "this horse bowed his tendon because the rider was too large?"

It should be said that the ability to carry a heavy rider is greatly affected by the fitness level of a horse, as well as breed.  Horses who are out of shape should not be asked to carry a heavy rider; if they do, they will often display discomfort much more quickly than a horses that is well legged-up.  Breed and conformation play a part in that animals that are long in the back will have a harder time with a heavy rider, as well as horses that are fine boned, or have less-than-ideal angles in their legs. Experience of the rider can be a factor too; a new rider may be unbalanced in the saddle, leaning in such a way to put excess stress on the horse.  An experienced rider can easily "sit light" on a horse by staying balanced over the horse's center of gravity.

Here's something else to think about.....young horses are the most vulnerable to injury due to the fact that their bones, tendons and ligaments are still developing, their front and back halves grow at different rates, and also because they are still learning to carry a rider and may be awkward and clumsy.  Yet, quite often young horses are sent to colt-starters that are quite large men!  This is very apparent to me in the reining industry.  Many of the top trainers (and plenty down the ranks) are very big guys, and reiners are not supposed to be big horses - they have to be in the 14.2 - 15.1 hand range in order to be quick enough to turn and short enough lengthwise to stop well.  If they mature bigger than that, being a reiner becomes a lot harder on their bodies, even if it does mean that they can carry their 5'11", 250 lb trainer a lot easier.

What I have noticed is that many reining trainers compensate by bulking their horses up to the point of being fat so that they can look as if they are bigger. Many people think that a big tank of a Quarter Horse is well-suited to carrying a large person, but I'd say this is a misnomer. Consider that in that situation, not only is the horse carrying the rider's excess weight, the large, heavy western saddle required for the performance, but also their own excess weight.  This is extremely stressful on a horse's joints, and here we are, asking them to spin as fast as they can, and run fast only to drop into a sliding stop.  Is it any wonder that many reining horses get used up and go lame so early in their lives?  Some Quarter Horses may have thicker leg bones than say, the average Hackney pony, but many do not (especially those that have Thoroughbred blood, halter horse bloodlines or are from certain reining lines), and even if they do, I think that it gives people a false sense of security.  They are still a large animal on fairly spindly legs, compared to its total body weight.  When you look at other animal's ratio of leg to body weight, most animals who have long, thin legs are lighter in body weight, such as a deer, or have thicker legs to support their weight, such as an elephant. Many Quarter Horses have been bred to be large, muscular animals on top of legs barely bigger that a table leg, and then are asked to maneuver at speed.

A couple of years ago, I took a very knowledgeable horsey friend who had never been to a reining event with me to the NRHA Futurity, and after spending several hours watching patterns, she commented several times about the size of some of the trainers, and that she could hardly believe that the horses we were watching were 3 yr olds - not only because of what they were able to do as a 3 yr old, but also because all of the horses looked really bulked up.  She said, "none of them look like babies."  My gut reaction was that when the horse is carrying a large man or woman, the "reiner way" is to make the horse look like it is capable of carrying that weight, even if doing so means that the horse won't be sound beyond the age of five.  Very few reining horses continue to compete and stay sound beyond the age of 7 or 8.  This isn't only because of rider weight, but I would like to pose that it should be part of the discussion.  One article I came across gives a mathematical equation on figuring out if a rider is an appropriate size based on the thickness of the horse's cannon bone. While it was applying that equation to gaited horses, I do think that way of thinking would be applicable to other breeds and uses, including reining.

Now, what should we do with this information?  First, if you are planning on sending a young horse (or any horse) into training, consider the rider's size in relation to the horse's.  Don't be afraid to ask how much someone weighs - your horse's health and success are dependent on it.  If you are confronted with a situation where a large person wants to get on your small horse, find a tactful way to dissuade them, or substitute a larger, more appropriate, horse.  And let's also take a look at ourselves.  We are, as a society, getting bigger, year after year.  This isn't healthy for us - studies have shown that the children of today will be the first generation whose life spans will be shorter than their parents, mostly due to the obesity epidemic and the weight-related diseases that accompany obesity.  Getting fit, not for the sake of being thin, but just for the sake of our hearts, our joints and our longevity, makes sense.  And as riders, it could make a huge difference for the health and longevity of our mounts. They are worth it, right?